Simplified, rapid play of baccarat-type game

Abstract

A faster version of a playing card wagering game similar to baccarat includes, after a wager has been placed on at least one of a player hand winning outcome, a banker hand winning outcome or a tie, dealing exactly one or two cards to a player hand position and an initial single card to a dealer hand position. With two cards to the player position, the banker must receive a mandatory second playing card if the first banker card is a zero value card. With one card to the player position, a higher natural 8 or 9 hand wins. In all other circumstances, a third card is dealt to the lower count hand, and then a resulting higher count hand wins and a tie loses.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method of playing a simplified wagering game using playing card symbols to determine a random event outcome on a video gaming system having a video display, processor, player input controls and cash system selected from the group consisting of currency validators, coin acceptors, and ticket-in-ticket-out scanner and printer, the method comprising:
 a) the processor recognizing a wager placed through the player input controls from credit stored after cash value entry to the video gaming system through the cash system on at least one of a virtual player hand win, a virtual banker hand win or a virtual player hand-banker hand tie event according to a final digit point count in the player hand and the banker hand; 
 b) the processor running instructions to generate the game of chance from an EPROM or other form of non-volatile memory, thereby providing exactly two random standard virtual playing cards face-up from a set of playing cards to a virtual player position to form a first reduced set of virtual playing cards as the player hand; 
 c) the processor running instructions to generate the game of chance from an EPROM or other form of non-volatile memory, thereby providing exactly one first random standard playing card face up from the first reduced set of virtual playing cards to a virtual banker position to form a second set of reduced virtual playing cards as the virtual dealer hand; 
 d) the processor running instructions to generate the game of chance from an EPROM or other form of non-volatile memory, thereby providing exactly one additional random standard virtual playing card face up to the virtual banker position from the second set of reduced virtual playing cards only when and always when the exactly one first random standard virtual playing card is a no-value playing card of a 10, Jack, Queen or King; 
 e) the processor running instructions to generate the game of chance from an EPROM or other form of non-volatile memory, thereby summing up point count in each of the virtual player hand and the virtual banker hand separately, and valuing the virtual player hand and the virtual banker hand according to a last digit only in summed up point count; 
 f) the processor running instructions to generate the game of chance from an EPROM or other form of non-volatile memory, thereby determining outcomes in a comparison between the virtual player hand and the virtual banker hand as follows:
 i) a higher summed up point count in the virtual player hand as compared to the summed up point count in the virtual banker hand is a winning outcome for the virtual player hand; 
 ii) a higher summed up point count in the virtual banker hand as compared to the summed up point count in the virtual player hand is a winning outcome for the banker hand; 
 iii) an identical summed up point count in the virtual player hand as compared to the summed up point count in the virtual banker hand is a tie outcome for both the virtual player hand and the virtual banker hand; 
 
 a) the processor running instructions to generate the game of chance from an EPROM or other form of non-volatile memory, thereby resolving all wagers with payout odds in a) according to outcomes i), ii) or iii) determining the outcome of the wagers. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1  wherein each of wagers determined by i) and ii) are resolved by the processor with 1:1 odds. 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 1  wherein a wager determined by i) is resolved by the processor with 1:1 odds and a wager resolved by ii) is resolved by the processor at 1:1 with a single card banker hand and is resolved by the processor with less than 1:1 odds with a banker hand winning outcome based on two playing cards. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 1  wherein a wager determined by iii) is resolved by the processor with odds of at least 7:1 to 9:1. 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1  wherein virtual playing card symbols are provided by the processor and displayed on the video display by provision of random virtual playing cards provided from a randomized source of virtual playing cards images stored in the non-volatile memory, and the virtual playing cards are placed one-at-a-time from the source of virtual playing cards to respective virtual player hand position and virtual banker hand position. 
     
     
       6. A system enabling the method of  claim 1  comprising on a video gaming system having a video display, processor, player input controls and cash system selected from the group consisting of currency validators, coin acceptors, and ticket-in-ticket-out scanner and printer, a virtual player table with virtual indicia marking a virtual player hand position and a virtual banker position, indicia marking a wagering position for a virtual player hand winning outcome, a virtual banker hand winning outcome, and a tie outcome, and dedicated area on the video display indicating credit status remaining from credit originally input into the cash system. 
     
     
       7. A system enabling the method of  claim 2  comprising on a video gaming system having a video display, processor, player input controls and cash system selected from the group consisting of currency validators, coin acceptors, and ticket-in-ticket-out scanner and printer, a virtual player table with virtual indicia marking a virtual player hand position and a virtual banker position, indicia marking a wagering position for a virtual player hand winning outcome, a virtual banker hand winning outcome, and a tie outcome, and dedicated area on the video display indicating credit status remaining from credit originally input into the cash system. 
     
     
       8. A system enabling the method of  claim 3  comprising on a video gaming system having a video display, processor, player input controls and cash system selected from the group consisting of currency validators, coin acceptors, and ticket-in-ticket-out scanner and printer, a virtual player table with virtual indicia marking a virtual player hand position and a virtual banker position, indicia marking a wagering position for a virtual player hand winning outcome, a virtual banker hand winning outcome, and a tie outcome, and dedicated area on the video display indicating credit status remaining from credit originally input into the cash system. 
     
     
       9. The method of  claim 1  wherein each of wagers determined by i) and ii) are resolved by the processor with 1:1 odds, except where ii) is a winning outcome with two banker hand cards, and the odds are then 1:2. 
     
     
       10. The method of playing a simplified wagering game according to  claim 1  further comprising: 
       wherein if one of the virtual playing cards provided in b) and c) is an 8 or 9 value card and has a higher single card count value higher than the other hand, the virtual player hand or virtual dealer hand holding that 8 or 9 value card is a winning outcome on the initial wager on that hand; and further wherein if the virtual playing cards in either hand provided in b) and c) do not have a value of 8 or 9 and are not of equal value:
 d) the processor providing exactly one additional random standard virtual playing card face up to the virtual player or the virtual banker position having a lowest count and the hand with the highest final point value or point total wins the hand and a tie in point count is a push on all wagers; and 
 
       further wherein when the virtual playing cards dealt in b) and c) are of equal count, a third random virtual playing card is dealt face-up,
 wherein if the value of the third virtual random playing card is a specific, preselected value, wagers on both hands lose, and if the value of the third virtual random playing card is any other value than the specific, preselected value, wagers on both the virtual player hand and the virtual banker push. 
 
     
     
       11. The method of  claim 10  wherein the specific, preselected value is 4. 
     
     
       12. The method of  claim 10  wherein in addition to the initial wager, a side bet wager is recognized after equal counts are provided in dealt random cards in b) and c). 
     
     
       13. The method of  claim 12  wherein the side bet wager is placed at a location on a gaming table identifying a location for placement of the side bet wager. 
     
     
       14. The method of  claim 12  wherein the side bet wager is resolved by paying 2:1 on the side bet for a first specific single virtual playing card value and at least 7:1 on the side bet for a second single virtual playing card value different from the first specific single virtual playing card value, and the side bet loses for any virtual playing card value other than the first specific single virtual playing card value and the second specific single virtual playing card value. 
     
     
       15. The method of  claim 13  wherein the side bet wager is resolved by paying 2:1 on the side bet for a first specific single card value and at least 7:1 on the side bet for a second single card value different from the first specific single card value, and the side bet loses for any card value other than the first specific single card value and the second specific single card value.